Tenofovir is a nucleotide analogue used in the treatment of HIV and chronic hepatitis B. It is taken up into the cell and is subsequently phosphorylated first by adenylate kinases and then by nucleoside diphosphate kinases into tenofovir diphosphate. Tenofovir diphosphate is an analogue of deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP) and competes with dATP for binding to the viral DNA polymerase and subsequent incorporation into the growing DNA strand. Once incorporated into the DNA, tenofovir causes chain termination, thus preventing viral replication.

Tenofovir Pathway References